Photo: Aera
Gas-guzzling motorbike taxis known as zems wind their way through almost every street in Cotonou, economic capital of the West African nation of Benin. The estimated 250,000 zems in Benin produce about 3.7 million tons of carbon dioxide yearly. But city startup Mauto, earlier called M Auto, wants to convert most petrol-bike taxis to e-bike taxis. Last year, more than 2,000 electric motorbikes were introduced and 2,000 more people are waiting for their bikes to be delivered. Mauto imports its bikes from China but is setting up an assembly plant in the special economic zone of Glo-Djigbé. Mauto offers competitive interest rates, covers maintenance costs, and plans to build more than 60 stations that let users swap used batteries for fully charged ones. Mauto is now operational in Togo and will expand in Rwanda this year. It is also looking at countries like Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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